The Business Times
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Macron bets on Beijing to save his legacy

The French leader will seek a new economic and diplomatic equilibrium with Chinese President Xi Jinping

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    • French President Emmanuel Macron (left) hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Pyrenees in 2024. Macron has been invited to a tea ceremony in Guangzhou, where Xi’s father formerly resided as governor.
    • French President Emmanuel Macron (left) hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Pyrenees in 2024. Macron has been invited to a tea ceremony in Guangzhou, where Xi’s father formerly resided as governor. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

    Andrew Hammond

    Published Wed, Dec 3, 2025 · 06:30 AM

    DEEP into his second term of office and unpopular at home, French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to reshape his legacy via foreign policy, starting with a key trip to China from Wednesday (Dec 3).

    Macron, who is making his first visit to the rising superpower since April 2023, will meet President Xi Jinping in both Beijing and Chengdu.

    The agenda for this bilateral state visit is dominated by the potentially much bigger regional prize of a new framework for Europe’s relationship with China – a grand goal on which the 27 EU member states remain internally divided.

    FranceEU-China relationsChinaEmmanuel MacronXi Jinping

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